Ozonizing luminaire



Sept. 3, 1957 Filed Dec. 2 8, 1953 l. MATELSKY 2,805,344

OZONIZING LUMINAIRE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor: lsaac MatelsKy, by M6 1 His Attorney Sept. 3, 1957 1. MATELSKY 2,805,344

ozomzmc LUMINAIRE Filed Dec. 28, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Isaac M G M His Attorney OZONIZING LUMINAIRE Isaac Matelsky, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application December 28, 1953, Serial N o. 40$,60

1 Claim. (Cl. 25071) The present invention relates to illumination and its principal object is to provide an ozonizing luminaire. Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description of species thereof.

Electric discharge lamps emitting 1849 Angstrom wave length ultraviolet radiation and capable of ozonizing the surrounding air are commercially available and are used at present for the purpose of destroying or masking odors. A lamp of this type manufactured and sold in a 4-watt size is designated as the OZ4S11 ozone lamp.

In addition to the ozonizing 1849 Angstrom wave length radiation, such lamps emit 2537 Angstrom wave length ultraviolet radiation as well as some radiation in the visible spectral region. An opaque shield is usually provided in fixtures designed to accommodate the lamp as a protection against the emitted 2537 Angstrom wave length radiation.

A feature of the ozonizing luminaire of the present invention is a visible light-transmitting shield absorptive of 1849 and 2537 Angstrom wave length ultraviolet radiation and luminous when irradiated by the lamp. I The shield is constructed to allow circulation of air through the luminaire and about the lamp for ozonizing.

The new luminaire is useful as an illuminant of low surface brightness, as a night light, for example, and is also useful for illuminating translucent or opaque designs, indicia and insignia applied to the shield.

A luminaire embodying the present invention thus combines the functions of an ozonizer, an illuminator and a transilluminator.

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification, and in which like numbers denote like parts in all the figures, two species of the invention are shown in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one species of the invention; Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective View of the luminaire shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of another species of the invention, and Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the luminaire shown in Fig. 3.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the luminaire comprises a sheet metal lamp ballast housing 1 which also serves as a stand for the luminaire. The housing 1 has mounted thereon an upstanding threaded lamp socket 2 for the ozone lamp 3 and four spaced upstanding studs 4, 5, 6, 7 secured thereto about the socket 2. The studs 4, 5, 6, 7 constitute a support for the hollow, open-ended, cylindrical shield 8 of the luminaire and support the shield 8 in a raised position from the housing 1 and concentrically around the lamp 3.

The shield 8 is made up of a transparent hollow cylinher 9 open at both ends which consists of ultraviolet absorbing glass or organic plastic, such as transparent polymerized methyl methacrylate, and a visible light-transmitting resilient organic plastic sleeve 10. The sleeve 10, the thickness of which is exaggerated in the drawing, is split longitudinally to fit into the cylinder 9, is slightly shorter than the cylinder 9 and is sufiiciently resilient to press against and frictionally engage the inner wall of the 2,805,344 Patented Sept. 3, 1957 cylinder 9 to retain its position therein. The sleeve 10 is easily inserted into and removed from the luminaire.

The sleeve 10 has on its inner surface facing the lamp 3 a coating 11 of fluorescent powder or a mixture of fluorescent powders responsive to the 2537 Angstrom wave length radiation of the ozone lamp 3 to emit visible light. Suitable powders are the fluorescent tungstates, phosphates, borates and silicates. A phosphor producing a cool white light is preferred, such as the calcium halophosphate phosphors disclosed and claimed in U. S. Patent No. 2,488,733, issued November 22, 1949, and assigned to the assignee of this application. These powders may be applied by spraying these materials mixed with a nitrocellulose and amyl acetate binder on the sleeve 10.

The visible light emitted by the coating 11 when excited by 2537 Angstrom wave length radiation from lamp 3 is transmitted by the sleeve ill to illuminate the design 12 and le end 13 painted on the outer surface of the sleeve '10. Light transmitting paints of desired colors may be used for the designs and legends applied to the outer surface of the sleeve 10 and these are clearly visible through the transparent cylinder 9 of the shield 8. Of course, decorative designs such as pictures may be applied to the sleeve 10 rather than the advertising matter illustrated in Fig. 1 and a number of sleeves bearing different designs or legends may be supplied for a single luminaire. Obviously, the coating 11 and the insignia 12 and 13 may be applied to the inner and outer surfaces, respectively, of cylinder 9 and the sleeve 19 dispensed with.

The internal structure of the lamp 3 has not been shown in the drawing, because it constitutes no part of the present invention which is directed to a combination of the lamp capable of emitting radiations of 1849 and 2537 Angstrom wave lengths and a shield capable of transforming the 2537 Angstrom wave length radiation into visible light to provide illumination and transillurninate the legend or design applied to the above-specified surface of the shield 8.

In brief, the lamp 3, which is of the type disclosed and claimed in U. S. Patent No. 2,219,890, issued October 29, 1940, and assigned to the assignee of this application, comprises a sealed glass bulb having therein a V-shaped, coiled tungsten filament having electron-emissive material, such as alkaline-earth oxide, coated on the spaced ends of the filament. The spherical bulb also contains an inert gas, such as argon, at a low pressure, and sufficient mercury to produce a low pressure mercury vapor atmosphere during operation of the lamp. An electric discharge occurs between the spaced ends of the filament during operation of the lamp and the discharge emits the desired 1849 and 2537 Angstrom wave length radiations. The lamp bulb consists of glass transmissive of such radiations, and the lamp is provided with the usual screw base (not shown).

The embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is similar to that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and comprises a sheet metal lamp ballast housing 15 having mounted thereon an upstanding lamp socket 16 for the lamp 3 and a shield 1'7 around the lamp 3. In this embodiment the shield 17 is in the form of a hollow disc and is constituted by a perforated sheet metal holding ring 18 secured to the housing 15 concentric with the lamp 3 mounted in the upstanding socket l6 and a pair of dished roundels l9 and 28 consisting of ultraviolet absorbing, transparent glass or organic plastic. The roundels 19 and 20 are clamped in opposing positions on the metal ring 18 by the metal spring clip members 21, 22, 23. For effective shielding, the perforations in the ring 18 are of such size that not more than about 50 percent of the area. of the lamp bulb beneath the ring is directly viewable therethrough. The surface of each of the roundels 19, 2t) facing the lamp 3 has a coating 24 thereon of fluorescent powder. The fluorescent powders mentioned above in connection with the embodiment of Figs. 1 and 2 may be used for the coating. 24 and may be applied in the same manner.

The fanciful design 25 of translucent paint is applied to the outer surface of the glass roundels 11 and is trans illuminated in the manner described in connection with Fig. 1. The luminaire is provided with a current supply cord 26 and plug 27 as is the embodiment of Fig. 1. 7

Air is more highly absorptive of 1849 Angstrom wave length radiation than it is of 2537 Angstrom wave length radiation. ,The ozonizing action of the 1849 Angstrom wave length radiation onrthe air. around the glass bulb of the lamp 3 is most intense next to the bulb and diminishes rapidly as the distance from the bulb increases. I have demonstrated that at distances from the bulb at which the ozonizing effect of the emitted l849..Angstrom commercial luminescent materials to emit visible light a in useful amounts.

Accordingly, in the luminaires' described above and embodying the present invention, the minimum distance between the shield and the part of maximum diameter of the spherical bulb is /2 inch. Preferably, this distance between'these elements of the luminaires is not greater than about 3 inches to obtain an effective compromise between the'maximum ozonizing action by the lamp and the maximum light emission by the excited luminescent material.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, for example, the maximum outer diameter of the spherical glass bulb of the lamp is 1% inches and the inner diameter of the right cylinder 9 is approximately 3 inches. The sleeve 10 is less than 5 inch thick. The minimum width of the annular passage between the lamp bulb and the shield is thus about inch.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the lamp 3 is of the same size as in the embodiment of Figs. 1 and 2, the glass roundels 19 and 20 are 5% inches in diameter and about 1 inch deep. The perforated metal ring 18 is about 1% inches in width. The roundels are placed inside the perforated metal ring between clamps 21, 22, 23. The space between the spherical bulb of the lamp and the roundels thus has a minimum width of approximately inch. 7

In both the luminaires disclosed above, the heat from the energized lamp causes convection currents in the air around the lamp bulb and the heated air rises. When 4 a the lamp is operating, air enters the luminaire from below the lamp and flows continuously upward past the lamp and out of the top of the luminaire. The passage between the lamp and the shield of the luminaire is adequate for a suflicient volume of air to pass the lamp for efficient ozonization of the flowing air by the 1849 Angstrom wave length radiation emitted by the lamp.

The brightness of the luminous surface of the roundels of the embodiment of Figs. 3 and 4, duringoperation of the lamp 3, is between 25 and footlamberts, the brightest portions thereof being about the center of each of the roundels. The average brightness over the entire coated surface of the roundels is approximately 30 footlamberts as compared to the brightness of 15 footlamberts of the surface of the moon as viewed from the earth. Luminaires having luminous surfaces of such brightness are eminently satisfactory for night lights as well as fortransilluminators of decorative and advertising insignia useful both at night and in daylight.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

An ozonizing luminaire comprising in combination, a lamp ballast housing constituting a stand, an upstanding lamp socket on said housing and studs on said housing around said socket, an electric discharge lamp mounted in said socket, said lamp having a spherical bulb and being emissive of 1849 and 2537 A. wavelength radiations, and a visible light-transmitting open ended cylindrical shield absorptive of such radiations mounted on said studs and supported vertically thereby in a raised position, with respect to said housing and around said lamp with its longitudinal axis at the center of said lamp bulb, said cylindrical shield having on its inner surface facing said lamp a layer of luminescent material emissive of visible light under excitation by the 2537 A. wave length radiation from said lamp and also having thereon insignia of visible light modifying material in light receiving position with respect to said layer, the width of the annular space between the maximum diameter part of said lamp bulb and the inner surface of said cylindrical, shield being not less than one-half inch and not more than three inches whereby during operation of said lamp saidluminaire is visible light emitting and effective for ozonizing air.

References Cited in the file of this patent. UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,291,926 Sperti Aug. 4, 1942 2,350,462 Johns June 6, 1944 2,515,820 Clark July 1950 

